My thoughts on the Phillies season.

The Phils come from behind to avoid a sweep as they defeat the Brewers, 4-3.

The Phils come from behind on a pair of home runs to avoid the sweep as they defeat the Brew Crew, 4-3.

The Brewers took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with one man out, Prince Fielder hits an RBI infield single, scoring Carlos Gomez, who had earlier singled, then went to third on Ryan Braun’s single, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead, while sending Braun, who had earlier singled, up to second base. The Brewers added to their lead in the third as, with one man on, and with two men out, Fielder hits an RBI double, knocking in Braun, who had earlier reached base on a Wilson Valdez fielding error, giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead. The Brewers then made it a 3-0 lead in the fourth as, with two men out, Jonathan Lucroy hits a solo home run, his first home run of the season. Meanwhile, Brewers’ starter Chris Narveson was holding down the Phils for the first five innings, in fact throwing a no-hitter until the fifth, when John Mayberry, Jr. got the Phils’ first hit, a double with two men out, giving up only a hit and a walk, while striking out three. The Phils then tied the game up at three-all in the sixth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Placido Polanco hits a three-run home run, his second home run of the season, knocking in Valdez, who had earlier walked, then went to third on Shane Victorino’s single, and Victorino, who had just singled. The Phils then took the lead in the eighth as Victorino hits a lead-off home run, his second home run of the season, giving the Phils a 4-3 lead. That would be the final score as Jose Contreras recorded his fourth save of the season by striking out Braun swinging.

Cliff Lee received a no-decision as he gave up three runs, only two of which were earned, on eight hits and a walk, while striking out only one. Kyle Kendrick pitched a 1-2-3 inning, all long fly outs. Ryan Madson (2-0, 1.29) got the win as he pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out two. Jose Contreras recieved his fourth save of the year as he pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while striking out two batters. Chris Narveson also received a no-decision as he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out three. Brandon Kintzler (1-1, 3.86) took the lost as he pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up a run on one hit, while striking out three. Mitch Stetter pitched to one batter, giving up a hit. Kameron Loe pitched a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. The Phils’ bullpen recovered from last night’s pitching fiasco, as Lee had a hard time with the Brew Crew, but kept the Phils’ bats within striking distance.

The Phils had only six hits in the game, with Shane Victorino leading the team with two hits, (Single, Home Run), as he knocked in a run. Placido Polanco (Home Run, 3 RBIs), Ryan Howard (Double), Ben Franciso (Single) and John Mayberry, Jr. (Double) had the other four Phils’ hits. The Phils’ offense was handcuffed until the sixth, when it finally scored some runs, but it is still not hitting as it had no hits until Mayberry’s double in the fifth.

The Phils (11-6, 1st East) will now head to the west coast for a four-game series with the Padres (7-9, 5th NL West). The game will be played at Petco Park and will begin at 10:05 pm EDT (7:05 pm PDT). The Phils will send to the mound Roy Oswalt (2-0, 2.50), who is coming off a no-decision against the Marlins on April14, as he pitched six innings, before coming out in the seventh bacause of back trouble, giving up just two runs on four hits and a walk, while he struck out six, in the Phils’ 4-3 lost. He will be trying to pitch the Phils to their first series opening win since the home opener, while trying to prove that his back is okay. The Padres will counter with Mat Latos (0-2, 5.84), who is coming off a lost against the Astros on April 16, as he pitched six and one-thirds innings, giving up five runs on four hits and two walks, while he struck out six, in the Padres’ 5-3 lost. He is looking for his first win of the season. The Phils will be looking to get back to hitting and scoring runs.

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